Women's Small Group

  October 16, 2022 (Sunday) Dad was taken to the ER around 3:40 am from the care facility because he was unresponsive.  Thankfully he regained consciousness!  However, he didn't get to move to a regular room until the afternoon of the next day.  He was agitated.  While my brother and sis-in-law accompanied him and tried to calm him, they invited him to receive Jesus and he responded by squeezing my brother's hand.  We are thankful for God is gracious and slow to anger, and he will accept my dad's gesture, even if it is a momentary offering of a repentant heart.  My sister shared this verse about God's mercy: "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." Psalm 51:17 October 18, 2022 (Tuesday) Thank God that my red-eye flight and the connection in Vancouver were uneventful.  I saw my dad in the hospital around 2:00 pm.  He was awake but confused and incoherent.  His speech was...

  Aloha Sisters,  Last week, we studied Gracious as one of God's character.  The Hebrew word for grace in the Old Testament is khen which means delightful and favorable.  And the Greek word for grace in the New Testament is kharis, which means a gracious gift.  Today, we will look at what it means for God to be Slow to Anger. Let’s take a look at a strange Hebrew idiom together while we explore this characteristic of God.  Youtube video: Character of God -  Slow to Anger , by Bible Project. The Hebrew phrase for “slow to anger” literally means “long of nose.” It’s a Hebrew turn of phrase that figuratively describes what happens when someone gets angry. In Hebrew, if someone wanted to say that a person is short tempered, they would say they are “short of nose” or “hot nosed.” So to say that God is “long of nose” is to say that he is patient. It takes him a long time to express his anger. He gives people plenty of time to respond to his gracious warnings...

  Today, we continue to look at the second character of God as described in Exodus 33:16,  “The  Lord , the  Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness..." What does it mean for God to be gracious ? Let’s take a look at the Hebrew word for grace, khen and the Greek word for grace, kharis . Today's YouTube video is  The Character of God - Grace  by Bible Project One meaning of khen is “delightful or favorable.” Things or people that naturally attract delight or favor (like jewelry or kindness) can be said to have khen, but something unattractive or someone undeserving can  also receive khen. For example, when someone is in debt to another and they ask for khen, they are asking for favor in spite of what they deserve.  Extraordinary acts of khen like these require a generous spirit. And no one does this better than God himself. He shows extreme khen over and over again. In fact, this characteristic o...